Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a belt fitting for a safety belt device in a vehicle and to a safety belt device/arrangement.
Description of the Background Art
A safety belt device of a vehicle may have, for example, a lap belt as well as shoulder belt which runs diagonally over the torso of the vehicle occupant. When the safety belt is buckled, the lap belt is anchored on the vehicle body via two laterally diametrically opposed, lower connecting points. The buckling point, which is situated on the inside in the transverse direction of the vehicle, is usually designed to be detachable with the aid of a belt fitting provided on the belt webbing, whose insertion tongue is insertable into a belt buckle anchored on the vehicle body side.
A belt fitting according to the definition of the species, which comprises a base segment and an insertion tongue connecting thereto, is known from DE 42 15 384 A1, which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,176. A belt eye, through which a belt webbing is guided, is provided in the base segment. When the security belt is buckled, the belt fitting inserted into the belt buckle divides the belt webbing into a lap belt segment and a shoulder belt segment. To arrest the lap belt segment of the belt webbing in the event of a crash, a clamping element is provided, which is shiftable between a release position, in which the belt webbing is freely movably guided through the belt eye, and a clamping position, in which the belt webbing is tightly clamped between the clamping element and a clamping stop, which acts as an abutment, with the aid of a clamping force. The clamping element is pivotable around a pivot axis between the release position and the clamping position and is elastically pretensioned in the direction of the release position. During normal vehicle operation, the belt webbing is thus freely movably guided over the belt running surfaces of the belt fitting. Conversely, in the event of a crash, increased belt forces act upon the clamping element. As a result, the clamping element is translocated in a rotation direction to the clamping position, in which the belt webbing is tightly clamped between the clamping element and the clamping stop with the aid of the clamping force.
In the prior art, the clamping element has a clamping piece which runs in the transverse direction of the belt webbing. In the clamping position, the clamping piece is in linear contact with the belt webbing, running continuously between the two outer edges of the belt webbing in the transverse direction of the belt webbing. In this way, a linear, even or constant clamping force distribution results between the two outer edges of the belt webbing throughout the transverse direction of the belt webbing.
In dynamic safety tests, it was determined that the belt webbing fabric tightly clamped between the clamping element and the clamping stop may be subjected to excessively high stress in the event of a crash, whereby it must have a reinforced design.